Cab's Here!

From Rare Insights - The Sifting Time.

"THERE are two kinds of division. There is the divisive or separative way of the ego, which is motivated by selfishness and fear, and then there is - and which is especially tangible in end-times periods - the sifting process of the divine Spirit, which is motivated by Love.

There are many righteous people in the world who recognise the greater and lesser injustices in our society and quite understandably become indignant and desirous to set things right. Some of them then "take up arms against a sea of troubles" and rally forth into a personal battle against evil and all that is wrong in the world. Yet when we place a charge on evil (or anything else) and proceed to engage it with any personal desire or aversion we actually strengthen the dualistic field within ourselves and in the world in which both 'good'* and evil thrive. This is why Jesus warned us to: "Resist not evil", lest in our resistance, in our personal battle with it, we feed it.

* In this world of duality, 'goodness' and evil keep one another alive. If we do good from our own self-willed ideas, then we are automatically fortifying the evil of this world, because the universe will always seek to balance itself. The poles of good and evil are perpetually swinging in duality, in maya, due to the ignorant free will of its bound creatures. True, divine Goodness - which has no opposite, for nothing can oppose it - is transcendent of both good and evil; the Christ-Light hidden from the eyes of the worldly is beyond both good and evil, and that is why it does not engage in the battle of the polarities. The Light of Christ-Wisdom will never feed either pole of duality.

Now, the battle of Armageddon is indeed intensifying in the world today as the long-prophesied and now approaching Light of Christ is pushing all unresolved karma and darkness to the surface from within. Therefore we shall all find that life on Earth is becoming more challenging as the forces of dualistic good and evil vie for our attention in an attempt to hold us in and to reinforce our binding to duality- and separation-consciousness, and this is how it seeks to feed itself, to maintain and to perpetuate itself, despite the inevitable approaching world-correction. Meanwhile the separating power of the Sword of Truth, the divine Truth - not personal truth or personal will - continues to effect the inevitable sifting process that leads to this age's end-time harvest of those souls who are able to rise above all duality and so enter the Ark of Christ before it leaves these shores for the New Kingdom. Therefore it is important to remain dispassionately vigilant in these times of world-acceleration because all and any persons who are not 100% centred and aligned in Spirit will act to some degree as a conduit for the expression of the dualistic powers, which are essentially the antichrist forces.

Such powers do have intelligence and are willfully galvanised and directed from the hidden worlds, and we shall be able to observe these expressing with greater desperation as well as greater cunning in these testing times, often through friends and family and those most dear to us, rather like Agent Smith was able to come through any human being who was plugged into the matrix in the deeply allegorical movie of the same name. This is why it is imperative to look always to the divine Spark in a person - what some may call the Soul - and not to the changing personality, with which we may easily become caught up in the dualistic drama of the last days: the great battle of Armageddon between the forces of 'good' and evil". (more...)

If one takes anything away from this post, let it be this: Resist Not Evil. Be neither for nor against anything. We live in a world of duality, of polarized opposites. Like a pendulum, the measure of swing to one side must always be balanced by the measure of swing to the opposite side. Whenever we focus upon any of the "seeming-and-oh-so-real" aspects of the fallen world that we are trapped in, we feed the illusion, we keep the pendulum in motion. This includes the 'good' parts as well as the bad. That is why the forbidden tree in the Garden was referred to as the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil". Ancient man "ate" from this tree, setting the Pendulum of Duality in motion, thus trapping Mankind and keeping us helplessly mired in our own karma.

The aim of the serious aspirant for liberation should be to escape from this never-ending dream (nightmare?). We should strive to not keep it alive with our thoughts, feelings and actions. The World is not what you have grown to believe it is. This is a false world. It is a counterfeit, a luciferic reflection of the true divine world that has always existed, but which is for now hidden from the sight of most. Sincere aspirants for liberation will seek to turn their attention away from the common occurrences, events and stimuli that this fallen, bizarro world unceasingly presents. Sincere aspirants will recognize the predicament that humanity is in and will seek to stop feeding the beast with their attention. Sincere aspirants will seek Right Knowledge, guided by their intuition. Sincere aspirants will endeavor to reject the personality and its incessant demand for reinforcement and validation. Sincere aspirants will hear The Call and respond without fear or trepidation.

Once one realizes the true nature of who and what we are, where we are, how long we have been here and how thoroughly we have been deceived and misled, the gilded lustre of this fallen world will begin to quickly fade. As Truth begins to dawn, the enlightened soul will crave just one thing - liberation.

Those who are willing and able must awaken immediately. It is time to for us to get the hell out of here. The cab is double-parked and the meter is running.

~ g 

Destruction vs De-Construction

Most of us were young once. Remember building blocks? Remember how we'd play with them, constructing something out of our imagination? Perhaps some sort of a tower. Remember the time and effort we'd put into the placement of each block? Balancing them carefully so that they wouldn't topple? Pausing to consider the progress of the work before moving on to the next phase? We were The Creators! We were The Grand Architects! What we imagined, we brought into existence! As we Thought, so it was Done! Creation via Thought.

As Above, So Below.

The Logos creates in the same way. There is no mystery. The All is Mind. All of Its creations, from atoms to universes, are the product of Its mighty and directed Thought. "The All is in All, All is in The All". Now, let's return to our building blocks. When we had finished building our edifice, we would sit back and admire our creation. We'd show our parents or siblings. "Look what I did!". The product of our Thought would be allowed to stand in all its glory, for all to see.

Then, at some point, we'd get another Idea, another Inspiration. "Enough with the tower. I want to build a house!". We'd look around and realize that all of our blocks were used up in constructing the tower. What to do? We loved our handsome tower. It took so much effort to construct. There would ensue a brief moment of reflection. One final look as we committed our creation to memory and then...

...WHAM!

With a mighty swipe of our tiny hand, we'd smash the tower to bits, delighting just a little in the glorious chaos created by our action. Blocks flying through the air! Sound! Motion! Cataclysm! Where once had stood a proud tower, a jumbled, confused mass of building blocks remained. We'd first survey the damage, and then slowly, with a New Plan in Mind, begin to build a house out of the ruins of the tower.

As Above, So Below.

The Creator works in the same manner. Destruction comes to mankind only so that new edifices may be constructed. When forms crystallize, grow old and wear out, new ones must be built in order to serve the continuing evolution of Man. This process encompasses all the materials of the Earth, religions and philosophies, as well as the physical and spiritual bodies that man uses. By way of example, human bodies of a million years ago were not the same as human bodies of today, although remnants of ancient body-types can still be found in isolated areas around the globe, such as the Australian aborigines.

Destruction should not be looked upon with with fear and trepidation. Destruction is actually De-Construction, the taking down or demolishing of what no longer serves Man in order to make way for the new forms and methods that he will utilize as he continues to further his evolution.

Therefore, the coming Tribulations should not inspire a retreat of the Soul into a tiny corner of nervous tension. It should be welcomed and understood for the beneficent work that it represents. For a moment there will be Sound, Motion and Cataclysm as all that has been built previously is brought down. Then there will be a Cosmic Moment of Silence, a time of "no-time", as The Creator pauses before picking up the blocks and beginning again.

All Love,

~ g

Seven - The Number of Creation

The Supreme Being - The Absolute

No Beginning, no End. The Unknowable. The All. Ever-existing. Creates All That Is in alternating cycles of Activity and Rest spanning vast ages of what humans call "Time". In the diagram, The Absolute is represented by the uppermost triangle, residing on the First Cosmic Plane. It's three Aspects are Power, The Word (Logos) and Motion.

The Seven Great Logoi

Emanate from The Absolute at the dawn of every new Day of Manifestation. These Great Beings are charged with administering the Creation.

The Cosmic Planes

There are seven Cosmic Planes. Each is composed of matter which vibrates at a particular rate. This results in each Plane having matter of a different vibrational rate, or density*. From "Servers of the Divine Plan":

* The term 'density' denotes a vibrational frequency of consciousness or plane of existence. The occult structure of the lower part of the universe in which we reside - the Cosmic Physical Plane - is most often described using a septenary model, i.e., seven ascending levels from the most dense or most material at the bottom level to the least dense or quickest vibration at the top. Each major level, or plane, can then be divided again into seven sub-levels. However, such clear-cut divisions are for conceptual convenience only, for, in truth, one level cannot really be distinguished from the next since the whole spectrum of vibratory frequencies changes by extremely subtle gradations. The most prevalent level of consciousness amongst the mass of human beings on Earth today - using the septenary model - is that of third-density approaching fourth.

Each Cosmic Plane is sub-divided into seven divisions, or "sub-planes". The Universe that we are experiencing in, is located in the lowest Cosmic Plane, the 7th. To be more specific, we experience in the seventh sub-plane of the 7th Cosmic Plane. This lowest sub-plane contains The Physical World, which is itself divided into seven distinct worlds, or densities.

The Solar Logos

Is the divine head of a solar system. This is who Man refers to when he speaks of "God". It's three Aspects are Will, Love-Wisdom and Intelligent Activity. In this diagram, the Logos of this solar System is represented by the second triangle labeled "God". Following the pattern put forth by The Absolute, the Solar Logos emanates Seven Logoi to administer Its Creation. These Seven Logoi have been referenced throughout human history as the "Seven Spirits Before the Throne", "The Seven Rishis", "The Seven Rays", etc. They are responsible for building and maintaining the seven densities, or 'worlds', in which all the kingdoms of life will evolve in. They oversee the evolution of all life in this sector of the Cosmos.

This level, this seventh sub-plane of the 7th Cosmic Plane, is a fallen universe. It is considered fallen because the majority of the life-waves experiencing in this system do not vibrate in resonance with the Divine. This is where Man lives the never-ending cycle of Death and Rebirth. Man believes that he is repeatedly reborn in order to learn certain "lessons". While this is partially true, it is also true that no schooling lasts forever. At some point, the student must either drop out or graduate. Mankind has been stuck in freshman year for quite some time now. In order to 'graduate' from this lower density, Man must withdraw his attention from the lower worlds and focus his consciousness in the Higher.

Things to Note:

Notice that each of the original Seven Great Logoi spawn seven subsidiary Logoi, who in turn spawn seven more, and so forth. i haven't done the math, but by the time this activity reaches the 6th Cosmic Plane, the numbers are fairly high. Because this is only a diagram, an attempt to represent something we currently do not have direct knowledge of, the numbers should be looked upon as symbolic. On this 7th Cosmic Plane, each of these lesser Logoi are in charge of a Solar System. They are as suns. That is to say (taking the case of our solar system as an example), the Sun is the physical representative of the Solar Logos (just as our dense bodies are the physical representatives of our spiritual, true selves).

When you look up at the night sky, many of the stars you see are also Logoi in charge of a system. These will have from one to several planets orbiting them. The Original Pattern established by The Absolute is universal.

Note that our Solar Logos also emanates seven logoi. In the diagram, you will see that each of these Seven are identified as one of the seven sacred planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune. These represent the seven creative Hierarchies, entrusted with the Form side of creation.

That concludes this briefest of outlines regarding The Supreme Being and the Seven Cosmic Planes.

~ g

Butterfly

The lowly caterpillar. Not too glamorous-looking. No one writes songs about it. Spends its life munching leaves and trying to stay "not-squashed". Then, in response to something from within, it finds a perfect leaf, attaches itself to it, and begins to spin a cocoon around itself. When the caterpillar has completed its labor, it suspends activity...and waits.

As it "sleeps", changes begin to take place. The caterpillar morphs into something unrecognizable at first. When it finally breaks its cocoon and clambers out into the day, it is no longer a caterpillar.

As above, so below. If the divine, Creative hierarchies could see to it that such a lowly creature could change its form as naturally as you please, why should we think that the same could not be done for Man, the beings created in the divine image?

Within each one of us, is the "plumbing" required to transform ourselves into something Higher. However, it has to be activated. The activation is a result of a "hand-shake" between ourselves and the Divine. Humble, earnest seeking and selfless, loving service will open a channel between us and Christ-Consciousness. As one lives these ideals in daily active service, changes will begin to manifest, as if by magic. Words give only the barest outline of what can happen. To be known, it has to be experienced, it has to be lived.

For many of us, our plumbing is in very poor shape. This is because we have been thinking wrong, feeling wrong and acting wrong. This has caused our equipment to rust and atrophy, making transformation of any kind difficult, if not impossible.

Fortunately, that situation can be reversed. With Right Knowledge, Right Effort and Right Aspiration to be a part of something Higher, we can learn how to cleanse our clogged plumbing, spin our cocoon and achieve the promised metamorphosis.

Goodbye, dirt and crawly things. Hello, sky and gossamer wings.

~ g

...And Sin No More

sin

–noun
1. transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam.

What is sin? Sin is man's error against divine law. The Law which holds that man must strive to treat his brother as himself. Both are One in essence. When we mistreat another, we do harm to ourselves. When we work selflessly for the benefit of another, due measure is returned.

For millenia, Man has had a very hard time understanding (or remembering) this cosmic fact.

Man is a servant to his sins. They keep us enslaved, as the karma generated by them chains us securely to the ever-rotating Wheel of Death-and-Rebirth. In order to hop off the merry-go-round, we must learn how to stop putting it in motion. The first step towards that goal is to cease to error against divine law.

Man is a willful creature. He does what he wishes. This is due, in part, to his exercising the divine grant of free choice. It is also due to the fact that man is ignorant of the divine laws and how to apply them in a harmonious and beneficial way. Mark this truly, Man will never achieve his Return to the Divine Kingdom if he continues to do what he wants to do. For his efforts in that direction, all he will receive is more knocks on the heads, more bruises to the heart, more sorrow, more pain, more births in the fallen kingdom we love to think of as "home".

Our continued presence on this planet serves no one's interest but Lucifer's, the dark lord, the prince of this fallen world. Our presence here is required in order to keep this entity "in business". That's why we are given all the rope we need to hang ourselves. Freedom to indulge ourselves in the mindless, never-ending quest for sensation. And really, that's all it is. We've fallen in love with the heavy, slow, dense vibrations of this lower plane of existence. We enjoy the sensations of sexual excitement, of anger and rage, of gloom, of violence against another, of pride, of eating too much or not enough, and on and on. We seek the sensation that our emotional (astral) bodies can extract from these experiences and we are intoxicated by them, infatuated with them. Man is drunk from the etheric emanations and slow vibrations of an undivine world. And so, we do not recognize that we are captives in a prison of careful construction. Even worse, we do not realize that we (like Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz") have carried within us the Keys to the cellblock door, all along.

How do we reverse this travesty? How do we escape this sham, this shattered reflection of an existence? How do we locate and use our Keys to the Kingdom?

First of all, we've got to stop indulging in the quest for sensation. Immediately. Whatever faults, whatever habits, whatever addictions one is laboring under, one must undertake the effort to eradicate them, to expunge them from his sphere of existence...NOW. If we say that "I can't", or "it's too hard", or "it's a disease" we will surely fail before we begin. If we say "we can't" then we won't. Because energy follows thought, and what is focused upon grows.

Second of all, we have to begin to humbly seek the truth about the power of The Christ and the Grace, the Christine radiations that are being presented to the planet here and now, at the end of this age. We are being offered divine assistance in overcoming our faults, addictions and bad habits. We are being offered the opportunity to have our karma taken on by The Christ. We don't have to "do it ourselves". Indeed, we can't. It takes a Power not of this world to fight the dark lords and their minions, on their turf. Those who wish to cleanse and prepare their "wedding garments" prior to The Great Transition should silently and humbly open their hearts and then ask the Christ to do the work within you, so that you may become a fit vessel for the service of mankind.

We can't say that we are not worthy. We can't say that we are weak. We can't say that we are undeserving. These are excuses. We are worthy. We are not weak. We are deserving of Divine Grace. That is the reason it is being offered to us yet again. We have always been the Father's children. He has been patiently waiting for us to turn away from the glamour of this fake existence and come Home.

Turn away from darkness. Ask The Christ to throw the moneychangers out of your temple, to cleanse the demons from your midst. Stand aside and do not interfere in the process. Cooperate in the effort by striving to not fall back into the old ways ever again.

Will you stumble? Possibly. Will you fall? Again, possibly. But as long as you make the continuous effort of will to continue to move away from what you were and towards what you wish to become, the divine link will strengthen, and your "enemies" will be brought down. Eventually, your eyes will begin to clear. Your emotional and mental vehicles will heal. You will start to see glimpses of the glory that lies ahead. The fallen world and its endless buffet of sensations will no longer hold your interest. You will realize that you have been living in a cesspool and loving it.

At that point, you will no longer be living for yourself. You will be living to do God's will. Allowing the divine to work through you will bring forth a bounty that can never be realized by selfishly working for yourself.

Not tomorrow. Today. Change. Prepare. Forgive yourself. Accept the Grace of an Age that is being offered to all who are wise enough to receive it.

Then go forth, and sin no more.

~ g

http://www.thenewcall.org/

Stony Ground

It can be disheartening when a gift is offered and not accepted. But such is often the way of the world. Historically, new revelations are almost never well-received. Its messengers are often persecuted, rebuffed and shunned. Extreme cases - well-documented throughout man's history - have demonstrated that even the highest representatives of Divinity can, and will, have their physical lives threatened or abolished.

Why is this? Divine revelations can be likened to a sword. Their purpose is to cleave the old in twain, so that the New can be planted in its place. The Old Ways are the ones usually cherished by the masses, for like a well-worn slipper, they have contoured them to fit perfectly - not realizing that they had to wear away sections in order to achieve such comfort. The slipper fits snugly, but it is nowhere near what it was when first worn.

When the Sword comes, it carries with it a vengeance that gleams like the Sun. Its Power cannot be downplayed or denied. Those who cling to the old, who are rooted in stale dogma and outdated forms, first tremble in fear and then, they attack. The Messengers and Avatars offer to sow the seeds of a Higher Truth over mankind, but invariably, a large majority of those seeds fall upon stony ground. There, they are crushed beneath the heel, or plucked up by the birds. The Teachings go unheeded, man remains in self-imposed darkness.

These are fast-moving times. This is by design. Many teachings are being offered to mankind. Some completely false and misleading, others glowing with the radiance of divinity. With Truth making its scheduled re-appearance on the world stage, those who are intuitively discerning should be able to recognize it.

Be fertile soil, not stony ground. Allow those Seeds of Truth to germinate within the bosom of the heart. There will bloom the Rose whose beauty cannot be denied and whose fragrance will uplift all within reach.

~ g

When We Begin To Feel Weary

"Behold, the great key-keeper of the age has turned the key; the mighty gates fly wide and all who will may greet the King. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see the King. Take heed! Be strong in mind; be pure in heart; be vigilant in helpfulness; the kingdom is at hand."

- Jesus, the Christ of the Piscean Age

Learn How To Think

[quoting]

No being can act without influencing his surroundings. As man rises in his understanding, he evinces through this a substantial aid to someone. A man falls in spirit and thereby perhaps kills someone.

One may cite numerous examples, such as how a man who became insane in Asia was the cause of the ruin of a man in Europe, or how a man who rose in spirit in America healed another in Egypt. It is not easy to decide when one is a murderer or a benefactor. Hence, man must realize his responsibility toward the Universe.

Each instant, man either creates or destroys. The world is filled with conflicting thoughts. A multitude of illnesses have been implanted by thoughts of destruction. A great number of murders take place at long distances from thoughts. But it is almost impossible to make man realize that his preeminence lies in continuously flunking. It is impossible to impress upon man how responsible he is for the quality of his thinking. The heart beats unceasingly; equally incessant is the pulse of thought. Man either creates or destroys.

Since thought is energy and does not decompose, then how responsible is mankind for its every thought! People think that their thought is insignificant and can reach nowhere, whereas the potentiality of thought is great, and for thought there exists neither space nor time. But those who think chaotically are like those who wave their hands in the dark, unaware of the objects they hit.

Moreover, thought accumulates in space. One can conceive of a mighty choir of harmonious thoughts, but one can also imagine a flock of chattering black jackdaws. Such congregations also fill space and disturb the Higher World. Dear thinkers, you are also responsible for the quality of your thoughts, Thus, ever you create your future.

Therefore, there is no way one can escape responsibility. Even the smallest thought enters into the megaphone of space and attracts to itself the same kind of locust, causing the smoky atmosphere of the planet. Each thought can either obscure or purify space.

Insignificant thoughts form ugly conglomerates and pollute space. We call them spatial slime. The average result of civilization is complete degeneration in quality of thought.

If thought contains the creative energy, then it is useful to send a good thought into the space.

From Cosmic Legends of the East - Stepan Stulginskis

[end quoting]

There is no question that it is hard to un-learn the bad habits we've worked hard to accumulate over hundreds, perhaps thousands of lifetimes. But un-learn them we must. We and the Earth share many things. To hijack an old joke, when we sneeze, Earth catches cold (and vice-versa). Thus, we have polluted this planet's atmosphere with ages of wrong thinking. It is now time for us to set matters aright.

Just as one wouldn't toss their kitchen garbage on the sidewalk, so should one be careful to not throw selfish and low-grade mental refuse into the subtle planes of this planet.

Remember, just because you cannot see your thoughts, doesn't mean that your thoughts do not have form, or that they do not travel. The answer is yes to both. It is therefore incumbent upon those who wish to serve the Earth and their fellow souls to guard their thoughts vigilantly, and release only those which do no harm. It will take practice, but it can be done.

Make the commitment. Learn How To Think.

~ g

The Planetary Deadline

"THE urgently needed process of global purification and healing which shall lead to eventual redemption for planet Earth is currently underway and is progressing mainly upon subtle planes. This vital activity is reconditioning and revitalising the planet's auric field, and such inner changes necessarily precede and will ultimately affect the positive transformation of our physical world via its subtle energy grid system. This system consists of a mesh-work of invisible forces that together form a kind of energy web that occupies space upon the inner planes that correspond to the physical body of the globe. The planetary grid performs a similar function for the Earth as do the subtle energy meridians within the human body, e.g., the regulation of balance (health), the distribution of vital life-forces, the relaying of impulses from one location to another (like nerves sending messages to the brain), etc. Wherever major lines of force intersect, perpendicular projections of whirling energy - or vortexes - emerge, each bearing its own unique properties. These comprise the chakra system of the Earth, and function - again like their human counterpart - as channels for the receipt and transmission of various energies from the unseen worlds. The planetary energy network as a whole is an extremely complex system; one that endeavours to maintain itself in a state of healthy balance. However, today it is in dire need of remedial attention, for disharmony and disease have there become prevalent and, as a result, are also manifesting everywhere in the physical world. Hence the ongoing work of repair and transmutation which is being effected by Servers who are labouring dutifully both upon the inner side of life as well as on the physical plane.

The bio-energetic network of every human being is inseparably linked to that of the planetary grid. Therefore, as our whole globe is purged and transformed, mankind is concurrently and similarly affected. All these important changes are being made in preparation for a great world transition that will culminate in the major release of powerful forces upon the planet and will mark the birth of the New World. This glorious event will represent a vital part of the Divine Plan for Earth in its current phase and will be experienced by all who successfully pass the forthcoming trials which necessarily precede such a momentous occasion.

Those divine Intelligences who are principally in charge of the regulation and distribution of karmic effects upon Earth are, in their great compassion, concerned for mankind in that it may be as prepared as possible to receive safely and beneficially the influx of light-energy that will be shortly introduced from the higher planes by way of the modified planetary grid and vortex system. In past, the influx of energies have been controlled and stepped down by these incorporeal Servers in accord with humanity's ability to receive the higher vibrational forces. Mankind has, therefore, been given sufficient opportunity to prepare in order to successfully integrate the corresponding transformations that these new frequencies necessitate. However, the global crisis today is so advanced, the Earth is in such a critical condition, and the planetary deadline is now so imminent that very soon the new energy grid will necessarily be activated, regardless of the proportion of humanity that is ready. Due to the present world crisis, further delay has become inexpedient. Mother Earth has entered the early stages of her labour, the moment of complete planetary alignment with a new density is now rapidly approaching; the New World is about to be born and every true soul will know its salvation.

The dedicated collaboration of a minimal number amongst humanity is required for the great shift to be achieved; yet due to the fact that in the past the number of souls required to constitute the critical mass* could not be mustered, the planetary Hierarchy has been forced to make necessary postponements; humanity has not been ready to co-operate with its spiritual Elders for the important cause of its own liberation. To date, this is generally still the case, and so more and more Servers have been incarnating upon the physical plane during the last few decades in order to satisfy planetary karmic law by contributing toward the critical mass, thus accepting the same grand opportunity which the majority of human beings have thus far ignored. However, each day the planetary deadline draws closer and every person will soon find that they are coerced by the intensifying world conditions to brace themselves in preparation for the veritable tidal waves of divine force that are about to radically alter life on Earth. The frequency of the planetary vibration is presently escalating; everything in the world today is speeding up in readiness to receive the forthcoming torrents of vital energy, and this inevitable process has been prophetically termed 'The Quickening'".

From "The Planetary Deadline" - Servers of the Divine Plan (available for download here).

Man cannot separate himself or hide from the powerful energies which are penetrating the planet. All are being affected, in a wide variety of ways. Individuals, communities, nations, Earth herself, are all showing the effects of their exposure to the Christine radiations. One would do well to accept and harmonize with this Power. Learn what needs to be done, then do it.

Swim with the tide, or risk being swept away.

~ g

Aftershock

People should pay close attention to what has happened recently in Haiti, New Zealand and now, Japan. These catastrophes serve as a dress rehearsal for what we may expect when the entire globe begins to undergo such troubles. Pay close attention. Put yourself in your brother's shoes. Remember the following:

At some point in the near future, in your lifetime, everything you hold valuable, everything you feel is absolutely necessary for you to have in order to feel "human" will be gone. You will very likely be left with nothing but the clothes on your back and what's in your heart. Will you be ready? Will you be able to handle it?

No cellphone. No Internet. No television. No car. No home. No job. No social standing. No food. No water. No nothing.

People will either have to take from other people, or learn to rely on and cooperate with other people. Which will it be?

The time is now to release the attraction to all those things that we believe are so important to our physical existence. All the "things" in our lives are simply "props". Objects provided for our use while we stumble through life trying to remember why we are here.

We are here to learn how to get out of here.

If we cling to the trinkets and baubles of material life, we will fail in our objective. If we desire physicality more than spirituality, then we will continue to spin on The Wheel of Death and Rebirth, suffering, suffering, suffering...with maybe one or two small moments of happiness sprinkled in. If that's what we want, then that is what we shall have. When this happens, we can't blame God, we can't blame "the devil", we can only blame ourselves.

We must work diligently to distance ourselves from the "things" that have held our attention for so long. We will either softly release them now or wait until they are violently wrenched away from us via the coming catastrophes. Those who can live without their "things", those who realize that the true Treasures are the loving, unselfish acts of service we perform for one another, will be better equipped to navigate what is on the horizon. Let it go. Let it all go. This is not to say one should impulsively sell one's house or car, etc., if those things are currently necessary. This is to say that one should release their attachment to those things and look within for what is Real.

Today, Japan. Tomorrow, the World.

Prepare ye.

~ g

Soul On Ice

The Importance of Purification

Purification of the mental, emotional and physical bodies is one of the most important things that a candidate for Harvest can do right now. It cannot be over-emphasized that how we live now is going to be a key factor on whether we will be able to make it into the Ark of Christ.

The following is an analogy.

Imagine that you have two pots of water. The water in both pots is not so clear. There is debris, dirt, film and other residue. We take a sieve to one pot and start sifting out the debris. We have to dip over and over again, but each time we take out some debris, the water becomes clearer, while less debris remains. Finally, after much tedious labor, we bring the water to a state of clarity and relative purity.

Let's say the second pot is left as it is. Or we can go further and imagine that even more filth and scum are added to the pot. In this case, the water remains cloudy and foul. It is still water, but it is impure, undrinkable and unfit to bathe in.

So, here we have two pots of water in varying states. If one had to put out a fire, both pots would probably be up to the task. But this analogy is not about fire prevention.

We are going to imagine what happens to these two pots of water when an outside energy, or force, is applied to them.

If the water in these pots are poured into ice trays and placed in a freezer, they will freeze into nice little cubes. One set of ice cubes will be dirtier than the other, but they will both freeze without much trouble.

But let us now imagine that the pots are set upon a stove and a fire lit beneath them. The waters will first come to a simmer, then a boil. Steam vapor will rise from both pots. If we allow both pots to boil out, we will see that the pot with the clear water leaves almost nothing behind. On the other hand, the pot with the fouled water will have a crusted, blackened mass of unrecognizable matter burned and stuck on the bottom. Its water was unable to withstand the transformative energy of the fire. It could not completely transform into its higher form (steam vapor) due to its fouled nature. The clear pot of water successfully completed the transition from water to steam vapor. Its purity was the main factor.

The water represents our mental, emotional and etheric vehicles -- our soul body. The pots and the ice trays represent our physical vehicles, which are simply containers for the soul body. The freezer represents the compression energy of the material world. The fire represents the radiating, liberating energy of Christ-Consciousness, the Power that is returning to this world. The blackened mass at the bottom of the foul pot represents the result of man's attachment to the material world. The dipping and sifting of the other unclean pot represents the striving to cleanse our soul body via Right Action, Right Thought, Right Aspiration, Unselfish Service To Others.

If we do not move now, to cleanse our vehicles, we will not be in fit condition to meet The Fire That Is To Come. No matter how "good", we feel we may be, or how "spiritual" we may believe we are, it is not our feelings or beliefs that are preparing to undergo this Trial By Fire.

It is our ACTS that will "judge" us. It is our ACTS that can help to cleanse our vehicles to a condition of purity that will make us suitable for Harvest when The Fire comes. We can't just say we want to be a part of the New Heaven and New Earth. We have to LIVE our intent, right here, right now, while still part of the Olde Heaven and Olde Earth.

Purify your thoughts.
Cease to live from your emotions.
Keep the physical body unscrupulously clean and healthy.
Keep The Commandments.
Follow the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path.

What is about to occur on the physical plane is a Transformation. All mankind will be immersed in this tremendous Energy which has returned for the Divine Purpose of "separating the wheat from the chaff". The New Worlds that await true candidates for Harvest are open only to a select few. They are open to those few who have taken the time while in the physical to recognize the futility of earth-plane existence and who long to return Home. The few who have taken the time and expended the energy in a sincere attempt to purify their vehicles and align their lives with the Divine Plan. The few who live consciously in every moment with two over-riding forces influencing the intent of their every act - Service to humanity and the aspiration to complete "The Great Work" - Liberation from fallen matter.

You are now left with these final questions:

Which pot of water are you?

Which pot of water do you want to be?

~ g

Men of Remembrance

Diagram taken from "The Solar System" - A. E. Powell

The following is from The New Call Q & A:

[quoting]

4 TYPES OF SOULS

Four categories of souls exist on Earth at this time. Let us first discuss the first three: those who are descending are in their involutionary stage; the second category have stopped in one place, they are at the lowest point in their development and have not yet started their ascent; and a third category of souls are those who are on the ascent, are in their evolutionary period, the phase of Return.

Most human beings on Earth today are still in the involutionary stage: child souls.

At the boundary between the involutionary and the evolutionary epochs is Christ. His Coming heralds the beginning of the evolutionary Epoch for Earth-humanity - the evolutionary arc of return, but the majority of human souls at present continue to descend; that is, they are still on the involutionary path. In this way, they will not accomplish transfiguration (Harvest or final Liberation). Another impulse upward towards the Sun must come in the next age. They are not yet Seekers of Holy Truth, therefore there can be no truly spiritual relationship with them.

The second category of souls could be termed adolescent souls. If they are sincere and pure in motive we can work with these, yet we are unable to reveal to them all the Mysteries. Their souls are not yet sufficiently developed to go the Way of Deliverance.

The third category of souls are what we might term 'harvestables'. These are sincere hearts who are done with duality, who are probably quite weary of reincarnation on the wheel and of being in the physical dimension at all and who yearn to Return. It is to these mature souls that the following paraphrased words of the Buddha apply:

"If this Earth were all that the poets dreamed of, if all disaster were swept away, every pain brought to an end, every joy made more profound, every beauty made more sublime, even if everything here were raised to the summit of perfection, the soul would still be weary of it all, and, freed from all lesser desires, it would turn away therefrom. This dualistic Earth has then become a prison for the soul, and however nicely it may be adorned, the soul longs for the free and unlimited atmosphere beyond the surrounding walls. And the so-called heavenly world of the astral sphere has for it as little attraction as the material sphere, the soul becomes tired of this also. These celestial joys have entirely lost their power of attraction. One's mental and emotional enjoyments do not give even the slightest satisfaction any more. Indeed they also come and go, transitory as they are, just as do the perception of the senses; they are limited, passing, unsatisfactory. The soul is weary of all these changes, and it is out of this world-weariness that it cries loudly for Liberation".

The fourth category is one that is discussed in Servers of the Divine Plan and is somewhat unique on Earth at this special time. It consists of those souls who have descended from the higher worlds of Spirit in order to be of service to world and mankind in these end times, to constitute the critical mass on Earth in order to fulfill the Law. These are the 144,000 (symbolical) 'elect of God' prophesied to appear in the world at this juncture of mankind's development.

These beings are the ones who will dynamically help manifest the Ark of Christ in 'the clouds of heaven' (etheric plane) and who will take leave of the world to return to work in the higher spheres on their way back Home before the great tribulations begin on Earth.

These souls are mostly working underground today, waiting and watching and sounding the Call wherever they are able. They are not well understood by the mass of even spiritually-disposed humanity. It is as if they come from the future. One of their most important duties is to help construct an interdimensional bridge in the galaxy from the higher to the lower, including right down to the etheric plane on this planet.

Now, traditionally there are three types of human being: i) Hyletics - those with only a consciousness in the five senses, ii) Psychics - those who use the mind and may have experiences of the subtle spheres (ie., lower psychism), iii) Gnostics - those whose divine spark is awakening to Life, sometimes called "men of remembrance".

It is only these last types (which are relatively very few in number on Earth) who can both hear the Call of Christ and respond adequately to it in order to receive salvific Grace in these times.

So, those who are able to recognize and respond to the Call are known as men of remembrance. They are either advanced souls descending to Earth or mature souls who have developed through the Earth evolution and are ripe for the Harvest. They may also be mature starseed souls from elsewhere who have incarnated on this planet at this time in order to partake of the Grace of an Age which is approaching the Earth today.

[end quoting]

~ g

"Make" Me (Revisited)

Some years ago, i posted a blog entitled "Make" Me. It began as follows:

[fragment]

I want to touch on something that's very important for all of us. I've alluded to it earlier and now I want to elaborate on it a bit. If Humanity would only grasp the following Truth, half the World's problems of Violence, Rage, Revenge, Feelings of low Self-Worth, etc. would disappear overnight.

That Truth is this:

No One Can "Make" You Feel Anything.

"She made me so angry!"
"That makes me feel sad".
"He made me feel bad".
"That made me feel this, or this made me feel that".

[end fragment]

Having recently come across some corresponding thoughts on the matter from another source, a decision was made to share those thoughts here, along with the link to the original post.

[quoting]

452. Another common form of worry which leads to the most serious results is the folly of taking offense at something which somebody else says or does. Ordinarily common-sense would lead a man to avoid this mistake, and yet those who do avoid it are few. It needs only that we should think dispassionately about the matter, and we shall see that what the other man has said or done cannot make any difference to us. If he has said something which has hurt our feelings, we may be sure that in nine cases out of ten he has not meant it to be offensive; why then should we allow ourselves to be disturbed about the matter? Even in the rare cases when a remark is intentionally rude or spiteful, where a man has said something purposely to wound another, it is still exceedingly foolish of that other to allow himself to feel hurt. If the man had an evil intention in what he said, he is much to be pitied, for we know that under the law of divine justice he will certainly suffer for his foolishness. What he has said need in no way affect us, for, if we think of it, no effect whatever has really been produced.

453. The irritating word does not in any way injure us, except in so far as we may choose to take it up and injure ourselves by brooding over it or allowing ourselves to be wounded in our feelings. What are the words of another, that we should let our serenity be disturbed by them? They are merely a vibration in the atmosphere; if it had not happened that we heard them, or heard of them, would they have affected us? If not, then it is obviously not the words that have injured us, but the fact that we heard them. So if we allow ourselves to care about what a man has said, it is we who are responsible for the disturbance treated in our astral bodies, and not he.

454. The man has done and can do nothing that can harm us; if we feel hurt and injured and thereby make ourselves a great deal of trouble, we have only ourselves to thank for it. If a disturbance arises within our astral bodies in reference to what he has said, that is merely because we have not yet gained control over those bodies; we have not yet developed the calmness which enables us to look down as soul upon all this, and go on our way and attend to our own work without taking the slightest notice of foolish or spiteful remarks made by other men. This is the merest common-sense, yet not one in a hundred will act upon it.

455. That fact is that one must not have any personal feelings that can be offended under any circumstances whatever. A man who has them is still thinking of himself; whereas our duty is to forget ourselves in order to remember the good of others. Nothing can offend you if you have resolved not to be offended-- if you are thinking only how to help the other man, and not at all of yourself.

From The Inner Life - Part I - C. W. Leadbeater (1910)

[end quoting]

Over the long ages, we have given away our sovereignty over our thoughts and emotions. In the effort to purify and refine our astral (emotional) and mental bodies, we must work hard to control the feelings we choose to feel and the thoughts we choose to think. These are important steps that we must take if we wish to succeed in stabilizing the riot of vibrations that assail our subtle bodies from morning til night.

Re-take the Castle, restore peace to the Temple. Honest assessment will reveal that WE are ultimately responsible for what we project back into the material world from within.

Remember always, that no one, and no thing, can "make" you feel a particular way, or think a particular thing. You, and you alone, choose your responses to life's offerings.

~ g

On Depression and Worry

[quoting]

421. Learn above all things not to worry. Be happy, and make the best of everything. Try to raise yourself and help others. Contentment is not incompatible with aspirations. Optimism is justified by the certainty of the ultimate triumph of good, though if we take only the physical plane into account it is not easy to maintain that position. One' s attitude in this matter depends chiefly upon the level at which one habitually keeps one' s consciousness. If it is centred chiefly in the physical plane one sees little but the misery, but when it becomes possible to centre it at a higher level the joy beyond always shines through. I know the BUDDHA said that life was misery, and it is quite true on the whole with regard to the manifested life down here, yet the Greeks and Egyptians managed to extract much joy even from this lower life by taking it from the philosophical point of view.

422. We never lose anything by making the best of things, but gain very much in happiness and in the power of making others happy. As our sympathy and our love grow we shall be able to receive within ourselves all the streams of emotion and of thought which come to us from others, and yet we shall remain within ourselves unaffected, calm and joyous, like the great ocean which receives the waters of many rivers and yet remains always in equilibrium.

423. The inner life of an aspirant ought not to be one of continual oscillation. Outer moods change constantly because they are affected by all sorts of outside influences. If you find yourself depressed, it may be due to any one of half-a-dozen reasons, none of them of any real importance. The physical body is a fertile source of such ills; a trifling indigestion, a slight congestion in the circulation, or a little over-fatigue may account for many conditions which feel quite serious. Even more frequently depression is caused by the presence of some astral entity who is himself depressed, and is hovering round you either in search of sympathy or in the hope of drawing from you the vitality which he lacks. We must simply learn to disregard depression altogether-- to throw it off as a sin and a crime against our neighbors, which it really is; but, anyhow, whether we can succeed fully in dispersing its clouds or not we must learn simply to go on as though it were not there.

424. Your mind is your own mind, into which you should allow entrance only to such thoughts as you, the ego, choose. Your astral body is also your own, and you should not allow in it any sensations except those which are good for the higher self. So you must manage these vibrations of depression, and absolutely decline to give harbourage to them. They must not be allowed to impinge upon you. If they do so impinge they must not be permitted to effect a lodgment. If, to some slight extent, in spite of your efforts, they do hang about you, then it is your duty to ignore them and to let no one else know that they even exist.

From The Inner Life - Part I - C. W. Leadbeater (1910)

[end quoting]

In these tumultuous times, we are ceaselessly buffeted by a seemingly endless stream of powerful stimuli. Many of them produce a negative reaction in the human's emotional and mental bodies. The foregoing is posted as a reminder that we are charged with controlling our own thoughts and emotions. With practice, one can literally develop an immunity to bad news. In truth, there is no such thing as "bad news". Whether news we receive is classified as 'good' or 'bad' depends entirely upon how we respond to it. Since we are the ones who do the "classifying", it stands to reason that we are the ones who are responsible for our depression, or our joy, as the case may be.

This is something that you can experiment with on your own, if you so choose. Try monitoring your responses to stimuli you may receive. Process the stimuli, reflect upon it. Then monitor your response. If you are about to feel something negative (i.e., sadness, doubt, fear, anger, depression) consciously work to cultivate an opposite, or higher emotion.

Constant depression and worry can create weak points in the subtle vehicles. This can result in blockages to important centers of force, or a weakening in the immune system. These provide a doorway to illness and disease.

No one's advising us to become cold and heartless. We are advised to simply develop an equilibrium regarding all matters put before us, by never getting too high, or too low, in response to external stimuli.

So, worry not. Worry is an invention of man. With illumination gradually comes the knowledge that there really is nothing that is truly worth worrying oneself about.

~ g

School Days

There is a well-known expression that states: "Life is a school". This is a fair analogy that attempts to describe one of the purposes of our being here. But where are the teachers? What classes are we taking? What are the lessons we are here to learn?

The Earth is our Schoolroom. Karma (the Law of Causes and Effects) is our Teacher. Our reactions to external stimuli are our Tests. The experiences that result from our reactions are our Lessons.

Fairly simple concepts, but concepts that completely escape the notice of many. If man would make the effort to pay attention to his life, to look at life as an ongoing course of instruction and correction spanning many incarnations, he might be able to begin to perceive the Grand Design behind the reason for his existence. When one pays attention to one's life, then even the most mundane occurrences are filled with meaning.

At this point in our evolution, the human life-span is short. Therefore, much experience must be crowded into a small period of time. This presents us with continuously oscillating forces in our lives, swinging us to and fro from one seeming "crisis" to the next. In truth, embedded within all of our troubles are the seeds of divine instruction, the teachings that we need to improve and refine ourselves as we attempt to move from men to super-men ("super" meaning "above", "more than", "higher").

Karma is the key, as it provides us with a mirror in which to see ourselves in. How is this done? Let's say that a soul - while incarnate as a man - mistreated his wife in a past life, perhaps several lives back. Let us say further, that in this current life, that soul is now born as a woman. The woman grows to become virtuous and righteous. She marries a man who at first loves her but gradually becomes abusive towards her. The woman cannot understand why she is being so poorly treated. What has she done to deserve this? Is she not virtuous? Is she not righteous?

If she could only peer beyond the veil which cloaks our past existences from us, she would recognize straight away that she was being shown herself. Rather, the soul was being shown the effects of its previous causes, or actions against another soul, through a previous personality. Now, the soul gets to look into hate-filled eyes and a snarling mouth. Now, the soul experiences what it is like to cower in fear and walk on eggshells. Now, the soul realizes the tremendous wrong that it has perpetrated in a prior life. If the lesson is taken properly, these tendencies should move towards being extinguished, never to appear in future lives.

Another example which may help to illustrate the point is when a child is disrespectful or ill-mannered towards their parent(s) , sometimes right on through adulthood. Those "poor parents" are more than likely reaping the bitter fruit of a harvest whose seeds were planted long ago, when they were the children mistreating and dis-honoring their parents.

This is why when we view tragedy, we should try to look past the heart-wrenching facts of the event and recognize that there is undoubtedly some cause, the nature of which we are not privy to, which required the participation of certain souls in the calamity. These souls are repaying karmic debts, brutal as the transaction may appear to us.

This is not to say that everything that occurs in life is a reckoning of sorts. Do accidents happen? Of course, they do. The point is that there is usually a very good reason behind the events that take place in our lives. By having our former causes reflected back to us, we are enabled to "look in the mirror", as it were. We are forced to confront and deal with matters that we would otherwise pay no attention to. We are given the ability to see ourselves. The hope is that we will be chastened by what is being shown to us, and work to expunge those qualities from our lives.

We've been at this school-thing for a long time. Graduation is literally right around the corner. Our Higher Education beckons. Pay attention to life. Put away the self-pitying cry of "Why me?". Recognize the lessons that are being offered to you and work to master them, once and for all.

~ g

Perfection Through Perseverance

From The Inner Life - C.W. Leadbeater (1910)

[quoting]

117. ... before he can take this step the man must have learned consciously to co-operate with nature, he must definitely have taken his own evolution in hand. The knowledge of the unity which makes him unselfish also makes him desire to be useful, for it gives him an incentive to study and to perfect himself-- a reason for his actions and a criterion by which he can judge the feelings and thoughts within him, and also the value of all with which he comes into contact.

118. How then must he begin this work of perfecting himself? Obviously he must first pull up the weeds, that is to say he must eliminate one by one the undesirable qualities which he finds in himself; then he must seek the good qualities and cultivate them. He must definitely set himself to practise helpfulness, even although at first he may be very clumsy in the unaccustomed work. The formation of character is very slow and tedious for him, for there are many forces arrayed against his efforts, forces which he himself has made in the past. He has for many years been yielding himself to the sway of certain undesirable qualities, and so they have gained a great momentum.

119. Take the case of such a vice as irritability, for example. He has in the past been in the habit of yielding himself to outbursts of anger, and every such outburst makes it more difficult for him to control himself on the next occasion; so a strong habit has been set up, a vast amount of energy moving in that direction has been accumulated. This is stored up, not in the ego as an inherent quality, but in the permanent astral atom; and when he realizes the inadvisability of anger and sets himself against it he has to meet this store of force which he himself has generated during many past lives. Naturally he finds his task a difficult one, and he meets with many failures and discouragements; but the important thing for him to bear in mind is that however many times he may fail, victory is absolutely a scientific certainty, if only he will persevere.

120. However great the amount of force may be which he has stored up, it must be a finite amount, and every effort which he makes against it reduces it by just so much. But on his side there is a force which is infinite; if only his will is strong enough he can go on, if necessary through many lives, steadily renewing the force for good with which he combats the evil, and behind him in that effort is the infinite force of the LOGOS Himself, because that evolution is in accordance with His will. Until the man grasps the idea of unity he has no adequate motive for undertaking the hard and distasteful work of character-building, but when he has seen the necessity of this, the reason for trying is just as valid even though he has failed a thousand times as it was in the beginning. No number of failures can daunt the man who understands the scheme, just because he knows that however great the struggle may be, the forces of infinity are on his side, and therefore in the end he cannot fail.

[end quoting]

Pull up those weeds. Identify and honestly assess those things about one's self which express, or are born from, selfishness. Then make the commitment to dissolve these selfish behaviors. Allow them to die a natural death by ceasing to respond to the emotional stimuli that evoke the behaviors. It's called self-discipline, self-control. The personality, the "little self" that 'wants what it wants, when it wants it and now', must be arrested and toppled from its perch as our master.

It will take perseverance and will, for we have been in the habit of indulging our bad behavior for ages. However, it can be done -- if that is what your heart desires.

Indeed, it must be done, if one is to properly prepare for what is upon us.

~ g

Three Questions

Definitions:

"Yuga": an age of time
"Maha Yuga": 4,320,000 years
"One Day of Brahma" = 1,000 maha yugas = 4,320,000,000 years

[quoting]

From "The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita -- Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda"

(8:19) Again and again, O Arjuna! the same people throng back to earth to be reborn. The cycle of reincarnation ends for them only temporarily with the descent of Brahmas Night. It resumes again with the dawn of Brahma's Day.

How long does the "show" go on? This stanza provides a spine-stiffening, if not utterly dismaying, answer to those who tell themselves, "Everything will work itself out, in time." A Day of Brahma lasts -- judging from the evidence of modern science -- some billions of years. Many self-aware egos, appearing at the dawn of Brahma's Day, are still wandering in delusion at the fall of Brahma's Night. One cannot but pursue the question further: How many Days of Brahma do most souls, in fact, wander in darkness?

The answer is not circumscribed by time. It might be countless Days of Brahma! Yet the cosmic destiny of every soul is final liberation in God, "Eventually?" we quoted Yogananda above as saying, "-- eventually? Why not NOW?". When the soul finally escapes the great wheel of "destiny" (which is only a cycle of unceasing karmic return until karma itself ceases to enchain), one realizes that the time elapsed was non-existent! Time is an illusion: In eternity, it is not even a second.

A worrying question arises: Is personal spiritual progress also not linear, but cyclic like everything else? What this stanza of the Bhagavad Gita suggests is that any rising wave of good karma should be seized with a firm grasp. Don't waste the opportunity! For even though time doesn't exist, it certainly seems very real to us as we labor under its yoke! "Seize the day!" is an expression: this Day of Brahma; this yuga of Earth time; this season; this day; this very moment! Spiritual progress comes not with the passing of years, but with every moment of sincere effort. "The minutes," Yogananda said, "are more important than the years".

Live now in God! Now is the only time you will ever have, since tomorrow too will be only another "now" when it arrives. "Who cares what happens in five years?" was a question flung scornfully by a young woman at her questioner in a famous movie. Many people think similarly. "Oh, some 'future time'! Who cares what happens then? Now is the only time I'm concerned with." Unfortunately for this blithe way of thinking, that "future time", when it arrives at last will be very much "now" -- even if it happens in a future body. It is very unwise, -- not to say foolish -- ever to offend against karmic law.

Right action will give you good karma, which will bring you corresponding happiness. It will not, however, release you from the constant turning of the mill that grinds every delusion, in time to powder. The goal of the Gita is not to show you the way merely to a better life -- perhaps on Earth; perhaps in heaven. Rather, it is, as Yogananda quoted Krishna, to help you to "get away from My ocean of suffering and misery!".

One by one, and by no means in consequence of any mass societal or evolutionary step forward, every soul escapes from The Wheel at last, into the arms of Cosmic Wisdom. Be such a one, yourself!

The astonishing thing is that this step is really quite easy to take! It seems difficult when we look around us, and see how many there are who fail to make it. If we will look into our own hearts, however, instead of judging ourselves by the criterion of others' struggles, we must see that the job is not so difficult as it seems. It all hinges on two or three very simple thoughts:

First, do you prefer happiness to suffering?

Second, are you willing to do the work to find a happiness that won't change, in time, to suffering?

Third (and most important), are you willing to offer into the fire of wisdom -- which is the true perception of things as they are -- that pathetically little, insignificant "I"? Are you, in continuation of this final question, willing to say, "Thou, Lord, art the Doer. Thine is the importance. Thine is the prominence before others. Thine also is the blame for every 'sin' this little "I" has committed, which I hereby cast into Thy flames to be purified that its reality be destroyed forever"?

Now -- as a physician might say to a little child after giving it an injection -- was that so very difficult?

The path to God is easy! For one thing, life's tests would come anyway, apparently without any cosmic reason. For another, there is no alternative to it! And for a third, every step of the way is more rewarding, more joyful, and more utterly satisfying!

[end quoting]

Yes, one certainly can presume that one has all the time in the world to continue to play in the fields of illusion. But we are at a moment in "time" where those who are deeply attached to this game, this matrix of materiality, are at risk of being moved even further backwards in their development. Solar system, planetary system, humanity (those who have made the effort) and the three kingdoms below man are about to take a tremendous leap forward in their evolution. The time to "save up your treasure" is now, not tomorrow, not the next day.

Quit holding on to this world of alternating joys and sorrows. Release your fear of what appears to be the "unknown" and allow Spirit to guide you until your inner eyes grow accustomed to the new light. The journey to liberation is why we are here. Accustomed as we are to living as physical beings, it is time for us to take the next Step. So much awaits us. Let us walk without fear into the dawn of our promised destiny.

~ g

A Challenge

I challenge the thinkers of the world to drop their sectarianism, their nationalism, and their partnerships, and in the spirit of brotherhood to work in their particular nation, regarding it as an integral part of a great federation of nations -- a federation that now exists on the inner side, but waits for the activity of the world thinkers to bring it to materialization on the outer side. I charge them to work in the cause of religion and in the field of that particular religion in which they, by an accident of birth or by choice, are interested, regarding each religion as part of the great world religion. They must look upon the activities of their group, society, or organization as demanding their help, just in so far, and only so far, as the principles upon which they are founded, and the techniques which they employ, serve the general good and develop the realization of Brotherhood.

I ask you to drop your antagonisms and your antipathies, your hatreds and your racial differences, and attempt to think in terms of the one family, the one life, and the one humanity. I ask for no sentimental or devotional response to this challenge. I would remind you that hatred and separateness have brought humanity to the present sad condition. I would add to that reminder, however, the fact that there is in the world today a large enough number of liberated men to produce a change in the attitudes of mankind and in public opinion, if they measure up by an act of the will to what they know and believe.

I challenge you to make sacrifices; to give yourself and your time and your money and your interest, to carry these ideas to those around you in your own environment and to the group in which you find yourself , thus awakening your associates. I call you to a united effort to inculcate anew the ideas of brotherhood and of unity. I ask you to seal your lips to words of hatred and of criticism, and to talk in terms of brotherhood and of group relationships. I beg of you to see to it that every day is for you a new day, in which you face new opportunity. Lose sight of your own affairs, your petty sorrows, worries and suspicions, in the urgency of the task to be done, and spread the cult of unity, of love and of harmlessness.

I ask you also to sever your connection with all groups which are seeking to destroy and to attack, no matter how sincere their motive. Range yourself on the side of the workers for constructive ends, who are fighting no other groups or organizations, and who have eliminated the word "anti" out of their vocabulary. Stand on the side of those who are silently and steadily building for the new order -- an order which is founded on love, which builds under the impulse of brotherhood, and which possesses a realization of a brotherhood which is based on the knowledge that we are each and all, no matter what our race, the children of the One Father, and who have come to the realization that the old ways of working must go, and the newer methods must be given a chance.

Work and give, love and think, and aid those groups who are building and not destroying, loving and not attacking, lifting and not tearing down. Be not taken in by the specious argument that destruction is needed. It has been needed, no doubt; but the cycle of destruction is practically over, could you but realize it, and the builders must now get busy.

I challenge you above all to a deeper life, and I implore you for the sake of your fellow men to strengthen your contact with your own soul, so that you will have done your share in making revelation possible; so that you will have served your part in bringing in the light, and will therefore be in a position to take advantage of that new light and new information, and so be better able to point the way and clear the path for the bewildered seeker at that time. Those who are not ready for the coming events will be blinded by the emerging light, and bewildered by the revealing wonder; they will be swept by the Living Breath of God, and it is to you that we look to fit them for the event.

From Serving Humanity - Alice Bailey and the Tibetan Master, Djwahl Khul

~ g

Help Along The Way

From The Essence of the Bhagavad-Gita -- Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda

Directional Development

[quoting]

There are, according to India's ancient wisdom, many kinds of energy, emanating from the astral level of cosmic manifestation. We have discussed already some of their energies: conscious, egoic entities that produce and sustain life on this planet. Some of these entities are more highly evolved than others, and deserve the appellation devas, or shining ones. Others are nature spirits -- fairies and the like. Still others are lower spirits: demons and devils.

Low types of humanity attract low astral spirits. High types attract guidance and inspiration from devas, or angels, who can help them through their openness to receiving assistance from above.

Very few humans are ready for the highest spiritual blessing: the help of a true guru. That all human beings need whatever help they can get, however, is surely very evident to anyone but the most arrant egotist. The fact is that man, having reached his high ledge on the evolutionary climb and finding himself clearly possessed at last of an ego, wants to enjoy the awareness of it for a time. Alas, he doesn't realize how very long, probably, he has been enjoying it! A woman friend of mine was scolding her two-year old son, "Come on, now, you're not a baby any longer." He replied, "But I like being a baby!" Such also are most human beings: They like themselves as they are! They like being unique and separate from all others, made a fuss over and coddled (when they can be). The climb, however, isn't over for them until they can expand their self-awareness -- eventually to embrace infinity. Meanwhile, the "advantage" of greater awareness, especially of the egoic self, carries with it a disadvantage also: a susceptibility to greatly increased suffering.

The other "selves" whose help he may scorn to accept are, in fact, closely related to his own self. In infinity they are all expressions of the same one Self! Man's task in the great scheme of things is to learn that he is only a small manifestation of Infinite Consciousness. The work before him of achieving infinity is colossal! If he has any wisdom at all, he must surely see that he needs all the help he can get!

By helping others, he helps himself by expanding his sympathies. By helping those below him on the mountainside, he reinforces his appreciation for his own more advanced position. By accepting help from those above him, he finds it easier to climb. Without help from above he may think, smugly, "Why climb any further? I'm satisfied with this plateau, where I can enjoy the expansive view." And so, then: shall he starve to spiritual death up there, lacking nourishment from ever-subtler levels of joy? Many people, smugly centered in their egos, are content simply to settle in for the long wait until death. Life must be continually progressive. If it tries to remain stationary, it is already a living death.

It is time people included subtler beings in their reckoning. For they are there, willing to help us. What attracts their help is not flattery (if they are truly higher beings than ourselves: devas, or shining angels). Rather, what they respond to are lofty qualities like courage, selflessness, generosity, and -- above all -- love.

In our love for others, it is best always to give impersonal love: to see God in all, and not to look to anyone for personal gain. Love should be expressed as a concern for their well-being; its impersonality should be without self-interest.

[end quoting]

This book is recommended to all, without reservation. Do not be put off by the title. It has been brilliantly written with a powerful simplicity and will be easily understood by all who take the time to read it. This gem of wisdom can be purchased for less than $15 at Amazon.com. One can think of more useless reasons to toss away twenty bucks. Don't you deserve to get some value for your money, for a change?

Help is ever available to those who have the humility to accept the outstretched hand.

~ g

The Greatest Sin

From The Essence of the Bhagavad-Gita -- Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda

Freedom Through Inner Renunciation

[quoting]

(5:14) It is not God, the sovereign Self, who creates in mankind the consciousness of acting in this world. God neither causes people to act, nor entangles them in the (karmic) consequences of their actions. It is maya, the cosmic illusion, which acts through them.

This stanza might seem mere casuistry: God might be taken as trying to shift the blame elsewhere by saying, "He did it!" In fact, however, it can be a great aid to the spiritual aspirant to realize how much a puppet of delusion he is. God created the delusion, true. Yet God Himself remains unaffected by it, for in His Supreme Spirit He is beyond all vibration. The yogi must feel, at his center within, that he, too, is immovable and at peace. Maya (cosmic delusion) acts through him, but cannot define him.

There is another "angle" on this teaching, however, which seems to contradict what has been taught above. Yogananda used to say, "It is better, if you do commit an error -- whether slight or great -- to tell yourself, 'God did it through me.'" He continued, "God likes that! For you will find it easier, if you do, to release the feeling of guilt which makes people beat themselves, with thoughts like, 'I did that! Oh, how weak I am! How wrong of me! How sinful!'"

My Guru used to say, "The greatest 'sin' is to call yourself a sinner." Instead, if you don't want to blame God (which Yogananda insisted, however, is perfectly fine with God!), tell yourself, "Maya (cosmic delusion) committed this deed through me. I dissociate myself from everything connected with it. In my true Self, I am untainted and forever free!"

"Of course," my Guru added, "you must then act in such a way as not to commit that error again!"

Every time you slip, instead of moaning, "I've failed! I'm a fallen soul!" tell yourself, "I haven't yet succeeded!" If you do that, your words, instead of affirming negativity, will be an affirmation of eventual success.

"The best time for sowing the seeds of success," Paramhansa Yogananda used to say, "is the season of failure!".

[end quoting]

On our way up the mountain, as we work towards purification, we may stumble over what is not Real. We are advised to not get bogged down in self-chastisement, self-pity and hopelessness. Get up, dust off, start again. And again. And again.

~ g